Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2015
"Couch-potatoeism" and childhood obesity: The inverse causality hypothesis.
The bulk of cross-sectional studies suggests that lower levels of physical activity are associated with childhood obesity. Although this has led to the general understanding that "couch-potatoes" are fat on account of their inactive lifestyles, cross-sectional studies do not imply causality. On the contrary, the contribution of physical activity to obesity during childhood is currently unclear, and lately, studies have suggested that "couch-potatoeism" could be the result of obesity rather than its cause. Coupled with evidence suggesting that interventions have had little effect on children's physical activity levels as well as on obesity, this inverse causality challenges the role of physical activity in childhood obesity prevention strategies.
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2015
Tobacco counseling experience prior to starting medical school, tobacco treatment self-efficacy and knowledge among first-year medical students in the United States.
To explore students' tobacco dependence counseling experiences prior to medical school and their associations with tobacco counseling self-efficacy, and familiarity with and perceived effectiveness of tobacco dependence treatment among first-year medical students in the United States. ⋯ Many first-year medical students may already be primed to learn tobacco dependence counseling skills. Enhancing early exposure to learning these skills in medical school is likely to be beneficial to the skillset of our future physicians.
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2015
The association between muscle strengthening activities and red blood cell distribution width among a national sample of U.S. adults.
Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a novel biomarker indicative of cardiovascular disease. However, little research has examined the association of muscle strengthening activities (MSA) on RDW. ⋯ Engagement in MSA is inversely associated with RDW. Although speculative, these findings suggest that changes in RDW may be one potential mechanism through which MSA may influence cardiovascular disease.
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2015
Factors influencing the disconnect between self-perceived health status and actual health profile: implications for improving self-awareness of health status.
Self-perceived health is an often used proxy measure for disease and health behavior status. Due to its convenience in clinical and epidemiological contexts, it is of interest to examine factors that may help to explain the potential disconnect between perceived and actual health, which was the purpose of this study. ⋯ Targeted public health and educational messages to young adults, non-Hispanic Blacks, and those with a higher SES may be needed to help prevent discrepancies between perceived and actual health. Preventing this disconnect may help to, for example, improve individual health awareness, and ultimately, improve health outcomes.
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2015
Gender disparities among the association between cumulative family-level stress & adolescent weight status.
To investigate precursors to gender-related obesity disparities by examining multiple family-level stress indices. ⋯ Different family-level stress indices are associated with the weight status of female and male adolescents. Combining types of family-level stress into one cumulative index appears to mask these differences.